StrikerS Sound Stage X
, officially StrikerS Sound stage X and commonly shortened as Sound Stage X or SSX, is a 2-CD Sound Stage whose plot takes place three years after Sound Stage of::Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS and focuses exclusively on the characters first introduced in the third season. As such, it is sometimes considered the fourth entry in the main Nanoha continuity. It was released on published::October 29, 2008. Notably, its name does not contain the prefix "Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha" but directly begins with "StrikerS", as the story has nearly no coverage on those main characters from TOS and A's. Synopsis Summary Sound Stage X begins with a Mariage killing an archaeologist, the sixth in a series of similar murders. Executive Officer Teana Lanster along with her assistant Runessa Magnus are transferred to the case and arrive to Midchilda. They are greeted by Ginga Nakajima, who was also assigned to the case. Per chance, they run into Subaru Nakajima, who is on her day off and arranges for Erio Mondial and Caro Ru Lushe to come back from Supools. Teana visits the murder scene and finds an Ancient Belkan proverb scribbled on the wall. She asks the Saint Church for help, and Otto accepts and heads to the Infinity Library. The narration briefly cuts to Schach Nouera and Sein escorting a group of pilgrims. Back to Subaru and Teana, the two are reminiscing about the old times while Runessa discusses the JS Incident with Ginga and Genya Nakajima leaves to visit the four Numbers he adopted. The scene cuts to Mariage, who seems to be looking for "Ixpellia". Teana and Runessa arrive at the scene and try to predict where it will strike again. Erio and Caro arrive to Midchilda. The scene changes to an unnamed man who suspects to be the next target of Mariage due to his connections to a certain Toredia Graze. Mariage attacks another person and a fire breaks out. Subaru, Erio, and Caro arrive at the scene to discover that Mariage has forced her victim to commit suicide and that she is looking for "Ix", with Toredia, indeed, being her next target. Teana catches up with Mariage on the roof of the burning building. Mariage states that there are more of her kind, transforms into a mass of black liquid and explodes, almost killing Teana. In the aftermath, Subaru is assigned to the case by her commander Voltz Stan. At the beginning of Disc 2, Otto and Vivio Takamachi are at the Infinity Library and discover that "Ix" and the Mariage are legendary figures from before the Saint King Unification War. Since the files are in Ancient Belkan language, Vivio sends them to Agito, who stays at Lutecia Alpine's house, for translation. The file reads that the Mariage are gaining numbers under the command of "Ix", the Dark King Ixpellia. Lutecia and Agito suggest that Jail Scaglietti may know more about the case. Ginga and Cinque Nakajima visit him and his loyal Numbers in prison. In return for red wine to mourn Due's death, Scaglietti tells them that Toredia discovered Ixpellia and used her body to mass-produce Mariage. He also wanted to participate in the JS Incident but Scaglietti turned him down. In fact, Toredia died four years ago and Ixpellia is held at some underwater ruins in Midchilda. At this point, Dieci Nakajima calls them to help contain a fire that breaks out in Marine Garden near said ruins. The N2R and most of the previous "Forwards" go in to rescue the civilians and fend off the 17 Mariage units inside. Runessa is exposed as Toredia's accomplice by Teana and is taken to prison by Vice Granscenic. Meanwhile, Subaru locates Ix who narrates how she and others like the Sankt Kaiser were used to win wars but only caused more fighting instead. A Mariage catches up with them and Subaru is injured, revealing herself as a Combat Cyborg to Ix. She assures her that it is possible to change one's purpose, like she, the reformed Numbers, and even the Sankt Kaiser herself did. Teana loses contact with Subaru and fires a Starlight Breaker, allowing her and Ix to escape from the facility. The remaining Mariages and the fire are taken care of quickly. One month later, Subaru goes to visit Ixpellia, who has been resting since the incident, and lets her talk with Vivio via video messages, thinking about what Mariel Atenza told her earlier: Lacking a power source to function normally, Ixpellia must now fall into hibernation for 10 to 1000 years. After bidding each other goodbye, Subaru heads home, and talks with Teana about what it truly means to live, before they go out for dinner. Sound Stage X closes with Caro narrating that whenever Subaru looks at the sky, she is reminded of Ix. Music The final track is a vocal song, "My Friend", sung by Mami Kawada. Supplemental material StrikerS X Guide Book StrikerS X Guide Book is the booklet accompanying the sound stage CD, providing certain information and artworks of the characters, magic and music. Characters Devices Spells Settings External links * Sound Stage X at the Japanese Nanoha Wiki. Category:Sound Stages